Is It Imprint or Love?
by VDDMWulf
Summary: Starts in New Moon. Edward's gone, but the Volturi want Bella and will do anything to get her. Fortunetly the Pack comes to her rescue but what happens when a wolf imprints on her and a Volturi guard falls for her? The War for Bella begins! Mature Content
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey everyone! ^_^ So this is my first FanFic… Pretty excited :p**

**Anyways, some things you should know about this story here: Number 1 is that it starts out in New Moon but I didn't really follow the story. Bella hasn't started hanging out with Jake and he's already become a part of the pack. Also Bella never runs into Laurent BUT Victoria has been stalking her. Anyways, lets get this show on the road!**

It had been five long months. Five months of searing agony and hell. The blinding pain of trying to exist without _him._ Without…

If I say his name, that gaping hole in my chest rips open even wider. Sometimes I'm actually quite surprised to find myself physically whole. It feels like I'm drowning, incapable of breathing fresh air. Incapable of doing anything really.

I understand why he left. I wasn't good enough for him. He is… an Angel. Beauty personified. And me… I'm just Bella. Regular plain human Bella.

Charlie wants to send me to Rene's. He thinks staying with her and Phil would actually do me some good, as if it could magically fix me and take all the pain away. Nothing can possibly fix me now. Only _him_. And if I did leave… What if he comes back and I'm not here? How would he find me? Would he even try?

My thought process throws my body into full blown panic mode and I begin to hyperventilate. The only thing that calms me down is the painful realization that he isn't coming back. Why would he?

I look at my clock. 3:24 A.M. I'm too afraid to close my eyes. Every time I do I have to watch him walk away all over again. Then I notice something odd. There's a shadow of a person just outside my window. I quickly reach for my lamp switch but when I look back, they're gone. I'm so desperate for them to come back I'm hallucinating them outside my bedroom window. Wonderful. Could I possibly get anymore pathetic? Suddenly the pain grips me hard, clenching its vice-like grip around my heart. I grit my teeth until it becomes so unbearable that I give in to the gut wrenching sobs. Then the restless sleep takes me.

Something startles me awake. I look over at my window and realize it's wide open! Could they really be back? A creek on the floor alerts me to my visitor's location. I turn toward my door, praying to see him. Only I don't.

There are two blood red eyed vampires standing in my room. This revelation should terrify me, but honestly, it doesn't. I just don't care. The girl, blond, is small and looks as if she were around 15 or 16 years old. The brunette boy doesn't seem much older and they look so alike that they're probably related somehow. Possibly siblings?

"What do you want?" I ask groggily.

"You know the Cullens? You were involved with one of them, correct?" the girl asks in a sinister but innocent voice.

"I knew them. But they… they left," I respond.

"How well did you know the Cullens?" she asks a little less patiently. A nasty little sneer begins to work its way across her lips. The boy just stands there impassively, looking quite bored.

"I knew them well enough to know what they are," I reply once again, this time not caring for my well being. It doesn't bother me that they're going to kill me. It just saddens me that Charlie will be the one to find my body.

"And what do you mean by that?"

"Vampires."

The girl smirks and the two begin to whisper rapidly, too fast for my human ears to comprehend. Suddenly the girl turns on me, that sneering grin plastered on her delicate little face as her brows furrow in concentration. After a few second the grin vanishes and a angry scowl replaces it followed by a vicious snarl. Without warning, the boy grabs me and throws me over his shoulder, the pair flying out the window and flitting through the forest.

Abruptly we stop, the boys shoulder slamming full force into my gut causing me to cough profusely. I look up to get my bearings and suck in a hissing gasp.

The red haired Victoria stands before us, smirking vehemently.

"I was right, wasn't I? You're going to kill her now, right?"

"That decision is left to our masters. However, if I know Master Aro, and I do, he'll want to add her to our collection," the girl says as if she had a bad taste in her mouth.

"WHAT?" Victoria screeches. "Human's who know too much are always put to death! It's vampire law!"

"This one is immune to my mind attack. Aro will want to see just how immune she really is."

"No! She'll die here and now! She's the reason my mate is dead!" Victoria hisses back.

"The Volturi are not concerned with your petty squabbles," the boy states. "If you are that interested in the fate of the human, you may petition for a death warrant. Our masters will hear out your request but the girl comes with us for now." He speaks with confidence and authority and his tone suggests you do not question him. The small girl accompanying him smirks arrogantly at Victoria.

A snarl ripples through the forest unexpectedly. At first, I think it's Victoria but as I look from Victoria to the others, I realize all three vampires are focused on something hidden in the depths of the woods. A set of golden eyes emerge from the darkness belonging to a massive horse sized black wolf. A grayish silver wolf follows suit accompanied by a rust colored one.

I cannot believe what I'm seeing. This can't possibly be real. I must be dreaming. This must be one of my twisted dreams. Before I can comprehend another thought, all three vampires have taken off again. The trees fly by at nauseating speed. I glance backward only to be startled into shock. The wolves are gaining, and fast!

Victoria lets out a piercing shriek as the black wolf takes her down. The silver and rust wolves both have their eyes trained directly on the boy carrying me. I squeeze me eyes shut, sure everything is about to come to a gruesome end. Ripping cloth followed by crunching rocks echoes in my ears as I fall to the ground. I look up only to find the giant silver wolf standing over me protectively.

_Protectively?_ Right, so it can eat me.

The girl turns and attacks the rust colored wolf at blinding speed while the boy grabs his torn off arm and flees. The girl follows with the rusty wolf hot on her heels. Abruptly the black one leaps into view and snarls at the silver one still standing over me. It whimpers in response but bounds off in the direction the vampires fled. The black wolf trots forward and licks my face before following its brethren.

The situation slowly sinks into me. The vampire rulers Carlisle told me about are aware that I'm aware of vampires. Victoria wants me dead. There are giant wolves who attack Vampires.

**A/N: Sorry it's so short, I promise that will be the shortest chapter! So! What'd you think? Pretty crazy right? Bet you thought the Volturi were gonna take her back to Volterra, right? Oh no, my sillers, they're gonna have to fight some big bad wolves to get to her :) Oh how I love being evil haha! Anyways, I'll try to get chapter 2 up pretty soon, but I'm having some car trouble so I might be a little busy trying to get that fixed :/**

**Also, if you want to review, please be honest. I like my work being critiqued even if it means you tell me that I suck. Only helps me get better, so once again, be honest!**

**(I'm totally giving you a free pass on being a big ole meanie! Haha!)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Ok so here we go on chapter 2! I realized after already posting the first that I forgot to specify which POV the chapter was in. Obviously Bella, but would have been nice if I made that clear from the start :/ so I shall not make the mistake again! Also I realized that I misspelled ****Renée's name :( My computer's all old and retarded and doesn't know how to do the alt number thing so I had to copy her name from a website just to spell it right this time haha! Anyways, lets start, shall we?**

**Bella POV**

"DAD!" I screech, running and tripping all over myself on my way into the house. It took me nearly an hour to get back and by the time I did I was drenched wet and covered in mud and moss. Thankfully the cruiser is still parked in the driveway even though it's well past time for Charlie to be gone.

"Bells!" Charlie leaps around the corner from the kitchen and grips my shoulders, looking me up and down. "Where the hell have you been? I went to check on you this morning and you were gone but the truck was here!"

"Dad" I reply gasping for air. "Dad, in the woods! There are giant wolves! Giant wolves!"

"What were you doing in the woods?" Charlie asks suspiciously. I notice he's looking at me as if I were an alien from a strange planet and not his depressed sad broken daughter.

"Well, I… That is to say I was… Now is not the time to question my sanity! I'm telling you, there are giant, enourmous, huge, impossibly huge, massive wolves out there!"

"Okay, Bella, okay. Wolves, huh? Well I still want to know what you were doing out in the woods alone," he says a little gruffly, "but that can wait. Wolves could explain all the dead campers."

"Dead campers?"

"Yeah, some campers have turning up dead here the past few months. We were thinking bears, but wolves could definetely be the culprit. I'll have to get a team together." I gulp in fear at the thought of those wolves killing people. What if they go after Charlie?

"You should be careful, Dad. They're big, big as bears."

"Don't worry honey, I always am. I'll see you tonight. Make sure you go to school. Oh, and don't forget to come up with that excuse. I'll expect a really good one," he chuckles. I can't help but smile at him. It's my first smile in months. Maybe I'm getting better?

School ends up being uneventful, other than the fact that instead of sitting alone during lunch at my usual table, I sat with Jess, Angela and the rest of the gang. Jessica was talking about a bear when I sat down at the table and everyone turned to gape at me. I found it disconcerting at first and then oddly amusing.

"Hey," I said. "What are you guys talking about?" I noticed my voice wasn't flat and emotionless like it had been. Interesting.

"Jessica and Angela are swearing up and down they saw a bear in the woods," Mike offers, while shaking with laughter.

"They're not bears," I said. "Wolves. I saw them too." Jessica smirked at Mike and then smiled at me which was surprising considering she's ignored me since I became anti social.

The rest of the day sped by until I found myself in my room staring out the window, waiting for Charlie to get home. I decided that the best thing to tell him about this morning's incident would be that I was sleep walking. It wasn't very creative, but he might buy it. Before I can put more thought into, I notice a tall and well built shirtless boy jogging up to the front porch. His skin is copper colored and his cropped hair is raven black but I recognize his face immediately as Jacob Black. I quickly head to the stairs to get to the door but end up nearly falling down them instead. After brushing myself off, I open the door to a grim looking Jake.

"Wow," I say. "You look much older… And bigger… And you cut your hair?"

"That's all you have to say to me?" he says dejectedly. Odd, I thought my voice sounded genuinely happy to see him. I feel happy. I think.

"Uhm, no. How are you? Long time no see? Is that better?" He snorts and pushes past me into the house. "Sure, Jake, come on in. No problem."

"We need to talk," he says seriously.

"About?"

"The Cullens."

The mind searing pain that I expect never comes. I am getting better!

"What about them," my curiosity and eagerness all too apparent. Maybe he's heard something recent about them that I haven't. Jake shakes his head in disgust and glowers at me.

"You knew!" he snaps. "You knew what those leeches were, and yet you hung out with them?"

"What?" I cock my head curiously at him not catching on to his meaning. Leeches? He couldn't mean… Could he?

"You know. 'Cold ones'? Ring a bell? You call them Vampires."

"Oh that," I say a lot more calmly than I feel. How could Jacob possibly know about them being Vampires? How did he know that I knew?

"Really? That is seriously all you have to say about it? Bella, you were hanging out with monsters! Things that suck your blood and kill you!"

"They weren't like that, Jake! They drank animal blood!"

"Right, so they say."

"How do you even know about it?" I snap angrily.

"I can't really say… But you know… Kind of. Anyways, I came to warn you not to go into the woods."

"Right, because of the giant wolves."

"Uh, no. Because there are a bunch of other leeches hanging around here," he growls as if I should know. How could Jake possibly know about the Volturi being here?

"Jake, how do you know about all this? About the vampires? And why should I not be afraid of giant wolves running rampant through the woods, killing people?" I realize I sound hysterical and force myself to calm down.

"Bella, you're wrong," he grinds out through clenched teeth. "The wolves aren't killing people, the vampires are. The wolves are attacking them!"

"And how do you know all this?" I yell at him getting exasperated.

"Because Bella! I'm-"

"Not allowed to tell you that," another voice growls out. Jake and I both turn to see another shirtless Quileute boy, who looks more man than the newly defined Jacob did. His hair is cropped short too. What was up with that, anyways? The way he stares me down makes me very uncomfortable and I begin to squirm under his gaze. He seems completely enthralled by my uneasiness so I try unsucessfully to stay calm.

"What are you doing here, Paul?" Jake snaps at the newcomer.

"Sam sent me to make sure you didn't screw up," he replies, never taking his peircing eyes off me. It sends shivers down my spine and Paul smirks knowingly. Jacob notices too and heads towards the door scowling, grabbing Paul's forearm and leading him outside.

"We're leaving," Jake calls. Paul frowns at Jake but looks back at me with a playful smile curving his lips handsomely before I close the door.

That was beyond weird.

Paul POV

I glare down Jake's back as I follow him into the forest. He could be so annoying. Just because that girl flirted with him a little over a year ago, that automatically makes her his woman. The thought stirs deep aggression and anger within me and I have to stop to control myself from phasing. I'd like to see Jake imprint on somebody and then try at all costs to leave them alone. How could I possibly allow Jake to simply be alone with Bella, knowing full well how he felt about her?

_MINE!_ the wolf in me growls ferociously. It takes everything in me to quell the violent storm of violence that surges through me, the wolf almost ripping free. If I let my beast loose, there's no doubt it would go straight for Jake.

Abruptly Jake turns on me, aggression swimming in his dark eyes.

"What?" I growl vehemently, the anger I tried so hard to bury rising back up like a tidal wave.

"Stay away from Bella," he snaps at me. A vicious snarl escapes my lips and I feel my muscles tense up, readying themselves for the phase. "I don't care if you have imprinted on her, Paul, you're not right for her!"

"Oh and I suppose you are?" I snap right back. "Or are you saying the leech is better for her?" Jake's entire body goes tense at the mention of Cullen and he begins to shake with fury.

"You're too dangerous. Your anger… you'd do to Bella what Sam did to Emily," he grinds out finally making it clear what he's getting at. He thinks I'm not good enough for Bella. And for once I agree with him. The thought of hurting Bella rips through me, but the thought of trying to stay away from her, that drives me over the edge. I finally allow my anger to push my beast to his breaking point, the phase shifting me to a wolf before Jake can say another word.

I'd love nothing more than to rip Jake's throat out but Sam's mind is instantly in mine, warning me.

_The leeches from last night got away, Paul. I don't know if they're bent on getting Bella, or if she was just a meal, but you better take up post close by incase the blood suckers come back._

_Jake was going to spill the beans, _I reply. _She may have already figured it out, she's a clever girl after all._

_Keep your distance, _Sam warns me warily. _Just make sure the leeches don't harm anyone, got it?_

_Got it._

I begin to trott a perimeter around Bella's house keeping to the thick forest. Jake phases and keeps pace with me. His presence is annoying, but I can't deny that if those two leeches did return, his help would be appreciated. No explanation to our mission is required. Jake already knows. One of the _few_ perks to being mentally connected.

**Bella POV**

As I wait patiently for Charlie to get home while I ready our supper, I ponder over everything Jake said. He mentioned the 'Cold Ones', which did ring a bell. It reminded me of when we were on First Beach in La Push. He had told me the story about how the Cullens made a treaty with the Quileutes, and also how the Quileutes were supposedly descended from wolves...

No… Jake couldn't be…

Holy Crow.

So Jake is a werewolf… That actually explains a lot. Such as why Jake knew so much about Vampires and the Cullens… But if Jake is a werewolf, did that mean he was out there last night protecting me from my late night visitors?

I hear Charlie's cruiser pull up just as I finish cooking the steaks and mashed potatoes. Charlie comes in and hangs up his gun belt, taking off his boots before rounding the corner to the kitchen. He looks at me warily and then to the steak. A grin spreads across his face and his eyes light up with I can only describe as hope.

"Hey Dad," I say smiling, which doesn't seem like much of an effort. Again, he looks at me warily, as if I weren't really his daughter.

"What happened? Something has obviously happened." I panic for a moment, thinking he knows about my recent visitors but relax, realizing he's referring to my recent behavior.

"Honestly, Dad, I'm not really sure myself. After last night… I just feel like I can live again." He looks at me suspiciously while taking a bite of his dinner while I just grin at him like a fool.

"Speaking of last night," he starts.

"About that… My dream was really… realistic. I thought maybe if I went out there it would happen. I guess you could say I was sleep walking. And then the wolves showed up and its like the adrenaline from it all just kick started me!"

"Oh, about those wolves, Bells, I don't want you going into the forest alone anymore. I heard some talk around town of wolf sightings."

"Sure thing dad," I promise, while crossing my fingers behind my back. I hated lieing to Charlie, but I had to speak with Jake about this. I need answers.

"I'm really glad you're better, though, Bella. To be honest, I thought I was going to have to send you to a therapist. You were like a zombie."

"Sorry, Dad," I say cringing at the dull memories of the last five months. He was right. There was no life in me. But now… Now there is.

The next morning Charlie was already gone, fishing I assumed. Since school was out for the weekend, I decide to get ready and head out to La Push. After pulling up to Billy's house, Jacob meets me outside, opening my door and helping me out. He seems like he's struggling with not knowing whether to be delighted or angered by my presence. I notice once again the absence of a shirt while he sported ripped jean shorts.

"Is this like a new look you're trying or something?" I laugh. A smile finally breaks out across his face and he chuckles slightly.

"What are you doing here, Bella?"

"I know what you are, Jake," I say flat out. Might as well get it well out of the way. Instead of being angry like I expected his face completely lights up and the biggest grin I've ever seen cements itself to his face.

"I knew you could figure it out!" he shouts excitedly. "This is so much easier, with you knowing!"

"Knowing what?" an authoritive voice commands. I look over and immediately recognise Paul standing next to an even taller Quileute who seems vaguely familiar. That's right, he was the one who said the Cullens don't come to La Push. Sam.

"I didn't tell her, Sam," Jake says calmly. "She figured it out on her own."

"I know," Sam replies. "Paul figured she would." I notice Paul staring me down again, his eyes boring intently into mine.

"So which one of you is the one who stood over me all protectively?" I ask innocently, guessing it was Jake. At this question, Paul stiffens and stalks away angrily.

"Uh, that would have been him," Sam laughs while pointing at a retreating Paul. I notice Jake glowering at Paul and Sam. Wow, this is getting weird. "Jake, why don't you get Bella on over to Emily's? The rest of the pack is over there, and I'd prefer it if we were all there to explain everything to Bella."

"Sure thing," Jake replies. He lifts me up into the drivers seat, then pushes me over into the passenger seat while hopping up into the truck and roaring it to life.

"I can drive," I protest.

"You don't know how to get there," he smirks.

"It's my truck," I mumble in defeat. Jake just laughs. "So who's Emily?" I ask curiously.

"Sam's imprint."

"His what?" I ask confused.

"It's complicated. It goes along with the whole wolf thing. Sometimes, we imprint on people. The person becomes our whole world, everything revolves around that one person and we become anything that person needs, whether it be a brother, protector, lover…"

It got awkwardly silent so I cleared my throat. "Have you imprinted?"

Jake snorts and laughs bitterly. "No. No I haven't."

"Kind of sounds like you want to," I tease playfully. He shakes his head.

"It's not like that… It's complicated." We pull up to a small house and Jake parks the truck. "I'm sure Sam will explain everything inside," he says gloomily. I follow Jake into a side kitchen door and find it full of large boys. They all chatter excitedly and playfully until we walk in. I notice Paul back away into a corner of the room and watch me with guarded eyes."Oh and by the way, don't stare at Emily," Jake whispers. I look at him confusedly until Sam steps forward and I notice a woman by his side. Three long gash-like scars mar the right side of her otherwise beautiful face. I immediately avert my eyes to her own and smile.

"You must be Bella, the leech lover," she teases. I notice Jake stiffen next to me.

"Not so much anymore," I reply. She smiles back warmly, clearly not wanting me to take offense to her joke.

"Sorry, didn't mean to… Well you know," she says.

"Bella, this is Emily," Sam says, hugging her to his side affectionately. One of the two boys I didn't recognise made a gagging sound. "And that is Jared," Sam says monotonely without looking behind him at the mischievous boy. "The other one next to him is Embry, and you already know Paul." At this last statement Embry and Jared both 'oohed' and Paul snarled at them. Emily just shook her head and laughed.

"So can you guys explain to me exactly what's going on?"

"You know the legend," Jakes says. "Basically at the presence of blood suckers, certain members of the tribe go through a sort of transformation and become a wolf. The blood suckers are our eternal enemy and we hunt them."

"For awhile now, the red headed leech has been stalking you," Sam says wearily. "Fortunetly we were just in time to save you the other night and I took her out. I've been tracking her for months."

"We have no idea who the other two are though. Their scent is completely new," Jake says in a frustrated tone.

"I know who they are," I sigh. "They're from a large coven in Italy called the Volturi. From what I remember of what Carlisle told me, they govern the vampire world. Humans are not suppose to know of vampire existance… They want me dead," I gulp. Paul lets out another vicious snarl and Jake follows suit.

"Enough!" Sam commands and they immediately obey.

"Of course," I continue, "By the way they were talking, they sounded as if they'd be adding me to their collection. As in, changing me."

"NO!" Paul thunders, his entire body shaking violently. Embry and Jared pull him outside through the sliding kitchen doors before I watch Paul, in horrified wonder, literally shift from a human into a giant greyish silver wolf. The wolf howls painfully and then leaps away in the direction of the forest.

"Ok, I seriously don't understand him at all," I say in bewilderment. Sam sighs almost sympathetically.

"Bella," Emily says hesitantly. "Paul… He imprinted on you."

"He what?" I ask. Clearly I didn't hear her right.

"HE IMPRINTED ON YOU!" Jake roars before running out of the house and phasing into a huge russet colored wolf.

Oh my.

**A/N: Wooh, that was long. But I was on a roll! Oh how I cringed when I had Bella call them werewolves. I much prefer the shapeshifter terminology… Alas she hasn't come across this knowledge yet. **

**Right, So I'm sure you're wondering "What the hell, Vivian, this is supposed to be a Bella/Afton story!" Well it is! Keep your booties on, sheesh. We're slowly working our way towards the Volturi, no worries, I promise. This is probably going to be a pretty long story, like 30-40 chapters. So once again, please tell me what you think!**

**I look forward to hearing from you :D**

**Till then, tata for now**

***Update: I haven't decided if I want Bella to end up with Paul or Afton so I'll probably put a poll up on my profile and see what you guys think.**

**Also PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry about the wait :( This old beast I'm typing on is temper mental and decided to crash on me for a little while. Luckily I'm tech savvy and was able to get her up and running… For how long, who knows…**

**Anyways just so everyone is aware, I'm not particularly sure who I want Bella to end up with right now, still thinking it over and I'm currently working on Afton's character sheet. He's gonna be way more cool than just having the gay power to become invisible to his enemies but I wont spoil the surprise :D**

**Obviously I don't own Twilight. Obviously.**

**Bella POV**

He imprinted? How could he have possibly imprinted on me? And what does that even mean for me? For Paul? I get why Jake is so angry… I obviously misled him somewhere down the line… I feel guilty for it but then again, my obsession with _him_ really is to blame for this whole mess.

"So if Paul is the one who was standing over me, and Jake is the one who chased the other two vampires, then which one of you licked my face?" I ask suddenly curious. Jared and Embry bust out laughing, falling from their chairs as Sam awkwardly scratches his head.

"It's not what you're thinking, Bella," Sam says cautiously, eyeing Emily. "When I did that, it was purely instinct. I was only trying to reassure you and say we had your back." Emily starts shaking from laughter as I look at them all like they're crazy.

I really don't know how to deal with all this. It's so sudden. I left one supernatural world only to be thrown into another. And to top everything off, I'm wanted by those Volturi, whether it be for their collection or to just merely be put to death for knowing too much.

"Bella, it'll be okay," Sam startled me from my thoughts. "You don't have to worry about Paul if you really don't want anything to do with him."

"What do you mean?" I ask warily, not sure if I really want to know.

"The imprint… Well, it's a bond, but it doesn't particularly have to be a… A sexual bond." Sam seemed uncomfortable with what he was saying and I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks.

"_Sexual?_ What on earth… Okay… Then what else?"

"Imprinting is complicated. When a wolf imprints, gravity shifts. Emily… she's become my whole world, my single purpose for existence. I love her and would do anything for her. I would die for her. Do you understand?"

"Uh no."

Sam sighs heavily.

"Okay, so Paul has imprinted on you. That means you're his universe. He's trying to fight it of course, but he can't help but want to be near you at all times. But you determine the course of the relationship. If you want a brother he will be your brother. If you want a mentor, he will be your mentor. Whatever you want from this, he will become."

As everything Sam is saying sinks in, a terrible pain rips through my chest. He's fighting it. Because I'm not good enough. Of course.

"He's only fighting it because he thinks you're still in love with Cullen," Sam says, reading the pain on my face. Oh. Well… How can I not be? He was a god and I was just a mere human whom he graced with his godly touch… I realize too late I shouldn't have thought about it as the all too familiar pain rips through my chest. Everything goes out of focus. I'm vaguely aware of Emily telling the boys to leave so she can calm me down.

Only the pulling sensation in the back of my mind keeps me anchored to reality.

**Paul POV**

No! No! NO! I will not allow Bella to become a vampire! If she were to become a leech, I would die. There truly would be no purpose to my existence. And to know that she, the leech lover, controls my life in such a way drives me insane! Who is she to shift my entire life like this? And why her of all people! Everyone knows she still longs for the blood sucker to return. All my instincts scream at me to rip Cullen apart, limb from limb! However, I fear doing such a thing would break Bella and driver her from me forever. So instead I will focus on destroying those abominations that would dare try to add her to their so-called collection.

Suddenly, Jake's thoughts bombard my mind. He's full of anger and hatred, all directed towards me. I laugh darkly. He's finally see where he stands with Bella. My Bella.

_She knows. Emily told her. She seems to be shock,_ Jake sneers. Anger courses through my veins, snarls erupting involuntarily. How dare they tell her! But then the anger ebbs away and a settling calm washes over me. It's better that she knows. It'll make things easier this way.

I lope to where I always keep a spare pair of shorts stashed and phase back. The overwhelming urge to see Bella nags at the back of my mind. After pulling on the shorts and a five minute run I find myself back at Sam and Emily's quaint little house. Strawberries and freesias engulf my nose. A small smile plays on my lips as I recognize Bella's enticing scent. I walk through the side door, my eyes searching. Emily stands next to Bella, rubbing small slow circles on Bella's back. Bella seems to be struggling for every breath she takes, her arms wrapped around her chest protectively. My heart stutters at the sight of her in such visible pain.

Did I do this? Did I cause this pain?

"Bella?" As soon as her name leaves my lips my chest burst with such warmth that it startles me. It appears to have startled Bella too, as her head snaps up as if she's been slapped. I find myself staring deeply into two large chocolate brown eyes and lose myself. My thoughts become incoherent.

"Yes?" Her shaking voice brings me out of my stupor and I notice Emily discreetly edge away from Bella and sneak from the room, leaving us alone.

"Are you okay?" I resist the urge to pull her into my arms and just hold her. She forces a heart shattering smile and shrugs.

"Everything is just… it's all too much, too fast." At this I bark out a laugh.

"So you can take in that vampires are real and werewolves are real, but when someone tells you that a man is irrevocably in love with you, no strings attached, it's too much?" Bella clutches her chest even more forcibly, almost as if she's about to fall apart.

"It's too soon. I can't… I'm still hurting," she whispers, her voice full of agony and torment. Rage and stinging discomfort begin to pulse through me. Bella rejected me. She would rather be with Cullen, a blood sucking monster, than me? I was no better… But at least I didn't consume people's lives in order to stay alive. I didn't kill people. I killed monsters. Didn't that make me a little bit better?

A part of me understands. She loved the leech. And she barely even knows me. But the other part of me, the more dominant part, it yearns to lash out at someone. Anyone. The tremors pulsate through my body and I struggle to keep calm.

"I'm not asking you to love me, Bella," I finally grind out. "As your imprint, I will be anything you need me to be."

"I could really use a friend," she says without looking at me. I let out my held breath and smile, relieved. At least she was willing to give this thing some sort of try.

"I can do that. I can also protect you." She smiles weakly.

"You don't have to."

"Actually I do," I laugh. "If something were to happen to you, I'd probably die. No pressure," I chuckle. She laughs too, a beautiful symphony to my ears.

"So what now?" she asks shyly, her cheeks blushing a deep red. A satisfied growl bubbles in my throat but I suppress it.

"We could head up to Port Angeles, catch a movie. As friends of course," I add.

"Of course," she smiles.

**Bella POV**

I was drowning, lost in the turbulent of the endless torture and pain. I suppressed my screams by not breathing but it only made everything feel that much worse. That was until Paul said my name. When I heard that one word the small pull I'd barely noticed intensified tenfold and I'd realized that the pull led me to Paul. I literally felt the need to be near him, to touch him, and my traitorous little heart gave a leap at the sound of his voice addressing me and me alone. But all of the pain that _he_ left me with became too much. All I could do was barely whimper to Paul that it was just too much. I was still too broken.

But somehow, Paul understood. He knew I was too broken for a relationship. And he agreed to be my friend instead. He'd already made a little of the pain go away and I was able to laugh again. Maybe Paul could fix me.

Now, here I am, driving my monster of a truck to Port Angeles with a tall, dark, and handsome man in the passenger seat. Just friends. We're just friends.

Unfortunately, my hormones want something more than just friends. The urge to reach over and touch him nearly drives me crazy while I try to focus on the road.

"Bella? Something wrong?" I jump at the sound of Paul's deep husky voice. I glance from the road to his handsome face. His lips are drawn in a tight line but his eyes betray his amusement. "You look like you're planning to bolt from the truck," he chuckles. A deep blush works its way into my cheeks as I realize I've been scowling the entire time.

"I was just… Thinking."

"What were you thinking about?" he asks curiously but I flinch as those familiar words surround me. I push back the familiar rush of agony and force a tired smile.

"Just how my life has changed so much this past year. I honestly thought I would just move to Forks, finish school, and then get the hell out of dodge. Who would have thought I'd end up driving to the movies with a werewolf in my car?" I laughed.

"Yeah," he sighs. "Life's fucked up that way." I blanch at his blunt words and I swear I can hear him trying to hold in his grin. Sure enough when I glance sideways at him, his lips are turned up in the tiniest amused smile.

The rest of the drive was spent in comfortable silence. Even if I had wanted to turn the radio on, that was a bit impossible, seeing on how I'd ripped out the new stereo Emmett had installed after they left me. I flinch, remembering how excited he'd been to put it in.

We decide on a horror movie. No romance. We end up watching a zombie movie, which I can tell Paul is enjoying immensely. After the movie, I let Paul drive my truck back to my place while we banter back and forth on who's death scene was the most grotesque. In no time at all we're pulling into my driveway and Paul hops out. I get out and he tosses me the keys while walking up to the front door.

"Stay here," he warns me. "I need to check for leeches." Paul opens the door and pokes his head through, sniffing the air. "All clear," he pronounces proudly. I suppress the urge to roll my eyes.

"Thanks Paul. For the movie, I mean. It… helped," I smiled.

"Yeah… whatever," he says gruffly. "I'll be patrolling outside, so don't worry about any night time visitors." And with that Paul runs off toward the nearest treeline.

It's almost time for Charlie to get home so I quickly make dinner. Charlie asks how my day went, so I tell him about hanging out with the boys at La Push, including Jake. Charlie's face beams from the grin quickly spreading across it. However, he quickly pulls on his poker face, trying to act casual about the entire incident. As soon as we finish eating, I tell Charlie good night and head upstairs to my room. I sit down on my bed and let the entire day's events sink in, expecting the onslaught of agony and terror to take hold, but they never come.

I slowly come to realize that I need what I have with Paul, whatever it is. If I want to move on and repair the gaping hole in my chest, I need to accept that Paul and I are connected, though we may not like it. And so I make a silent vow to try my hardest at whatever Paul throws my way.

**A/N: Yeah so this was just basically trying to get Bella to get a feel for what Paul is to her and help her dissolve some of the pain Edward left behind. Next chapter will most likely be in Volturi members POV see you can get a little sneak peak at what they have in mind for Bella. The Cullens may make an appearance :P**

**So what did you think of my Paul? I tried to make him like the volatile angry madman he's usually described as but I think I did go a little ooc.**

**Please review! It makes me work faster!**


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